Page 18 of Dark As Coal

I could see it.

Matter of fact I have seen it one too many times to count.

Therefore, I nodded, and then whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Her head snapped up and then she looked at me incredulously, “Why in the world are you sorry?”

“Because I know how that feels. I know he will never claim me. That’s not the type of guy he is.” I told her, wishing I had been telling a lie. But it wasn’t. Every word that had fallen from my lips had been the absolute truth where Coal was concerned.

At Gabby’s gasp, we both looked at her to see her visibly sighing, “We forgot the right corner.”

And it was easy to forget that corner, no one ever sat there, because it was too far from everything else.

***

I had just started on righting furniture in the corner when I heard Asher’s voice and looked over my shoulder at him to see he was looking at me, “Darlin’, normally I would have you stay down here and help finish cleaning up, but we got an allied MC almost here. Best you get up to Coal’s room. Your room won’t be safe. And we don’t need a repeat of what all went on down here should he see you with another man.”

Before I could say a word, Gabby ambled over to us and lowered her voice so only Asher and I could hear, “If you do that, it’ll show favoritism, and it will show the other girls that if they get the attention from a brother as she has, they have a chance to land one of them. What if she stays behind the bar? We need help back there tonight because the prospects are in charge of the bar outside.”

That was when Asher sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, “Fucking hell. Okay. Just for tonight, if anyone wants you, you tell them you’re claimed for the night. And if they don’t listen, you holler for me. Got it?”

I nodded then went to my room to change. A pair of fitted torn skinny jeans, black combat boots, and an army green fitted tank.

It was as I was headed to put Coal’s clothes in his room, that he looked at me from his stool at the bar, crooked his finger at me, and when I got closer to him, he asked, “Where are you going with those?”

I smiled, “To put them back in your room before I get behind the bar.”

He shook his head, “The guys are almost here, put them in your room, then get your ass behind the bar.”

And I knew that either Gabby or Asher had relayed to Coal what the plan was. I also knew, that for the rest of the night, I would be questioning everything about us, that I thought I knew.

After I did that, I got my ass behind the bar.

It was hours later; I had slung a bunch of drinks when one of the guys in the Pagan’s Soldiers MC, who was kind of cute if you were into that whole Playboy buck look.

You know the cross between a Ken doll and a frat boy?

His blonde hair flopped into his forehead, and not in that he just ran his hands threw it in a sexy way, when he said, “So, gotta ask. Gotta know. Don’t see a property patch on you sweetheart. So that tells me your fair game.”

Not wanting to piss off an allied club and knowing that Asher technically gave me the night off, I smiled at him and said, “I’ve been claimed for the night. And my job is behind the bar.”

He had the audacity to freaking smirk, “Well, nothing wrong with that man letting that claim go since I’m only here for the night and I would look on it favorably if he let that claim go.”

Before I could say anything to that, he further said, “I want to slam my dick into your tight, curvy body as I fist your hair around my fist. See you ain’t claimed. What do I need to do?”

I was pretty sure that any other woman, that would turn her on, but I wasn’t any other woman, and he wasn’t Coal.

I didn’t know that Rome had pulled his phone out and texted someone something before the man opened his mouth the second time.

Not until I heard that dark and deadly voice that belonged to one man, “Didn’t she tell you she was claimed for the night?”

My head looked around the guy and there stood Coal with his arms crossed and his feet planted. But it was the expression on his face that even had me stilling. But… it was the unmistakable darkness that was overtaking his steel-colored gray eyes. Oh shit.

The frat-looking boy looked at Coal and for some reason, didn’t read the pissed off expression on Coal’s face. Yeah, he was stupid. Furthermore, he proved that when he said the next words, “Yeah, but she’s just a club girl. She ain’t got a patch on her.”

Coal growled, “She doesn’t fucking need one, motherfucker.”

And that was when the Playboy Buck decided to stand up and get nose to nose with Coal, “You know who I am. You want to go head-to-head with the VP of an allied club over some piece of ass?”

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